1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to seat adjusting systems and, more particularly, to a seat adjusting system having a motor assembly with an integrated sensor and control electronics assembly for adjusting a seat in a vehicle.
2. Background Art
For ergonomic and therapeutic reasons, it is desirable to provide position and contour adjustment to a vehicle seat. For example, the fore and aft position of a seat should be adjustable to accommodate occupants of differing heights and body constructions. It is also desirable to raise and lower a seat and tilt it forward and rearward. Furthermore, it is desirable to incorporate an adjustable lumbar support mechanism in the seat back and perhaps adjustment of the bolster contour, head/neck contour, and the like. Vehicles are typically equipped with seat adjusting systems having power assisted devices for accomplishing seat adjustments.
Such power assisted devices include a motor assembly having motors configured to move various structural members of a seat frame. An occupant activates the motors by using controls mounted on the seat. The occupant controls the motors to move the structural members of the seat frame to the occupant""s liking.
If the seat is always occupied by the same occupant then that occupant can adjust the controls once and the seat will remain in the desired position. No further adjustment is needed and there is no need to retain position information corresponding to the occupant""s preference. However, from time to time, a second occupant may use the seat. When the second occupant uses the seat the seat may need to be adjusted thereby placing the seat in a second position. This destroys the first position set by the primary occupant requiring this occupant to adjust the seat to the first position the next time this occupant uses the seat. This entails activating the controls once again until the seat has been adjusted back to the first position.
Typical seat adjusting systems use an electronic memory seat module to save the occupants the trouble of having to manually activate the controls to restore the seat to desired positions. The memory seat module receives and retains seat position information for each desired position and includes a switch which allows it to return the seat to any of the desired positions, usually at the touch of a single button.
A sensor assembly having seat position sensors provides the seat position information to the memory seat module. Typically the sensors of the sensor assembly are placed on or proximate to the motors of the motor assembly. Each sensor keeps track of what its corresponding motor has done relative to some reference position. This information is conveyed from the sensors to the memory seat module via electrical wiring. Commonly employed sensors include potentiometer, Hall effect sensors, and motor commutator pulse generators.
Potentiometers attach to a motor and produce an analog voltage which varies as the motor rotates. An A/D converter in the memory seat module converts the analog signal into a digital signal for further processing. Hall effect sensors are based on electromagnetic principles and are mounted in motors to produce electronic pulses as the motors rotate. The memory seat module then counts the pulses to keep track of seat position. Motor commutator pulse generators are based on monitoring current through a motor. As the motor rotates, the commutators make and break contact with brushes to create electrical pulses. The memory seat module converts the pulses into digital signals which are then counted to keep track of seat position.
The memory seat module incorporates motor control relays. Each motor control relay is associated with a motor of the motor assembly for controlling the associated motor. The motor assembly further includes a motor assembly connector for connecting wires from the motor assembly to the memory seat module and a sensor assembly connector for connecting wires from the sensor assembly to the memory seat module.
A problem with typical seat adjusting systems is the large amount of wires that are needed to connect the motor and sensor assemblies to the memory seat module. For example, for a motor assembly having three motors and a sensor assembly having three sensors, there needs to be eleven wires connecting the motor and sensor assemblies to the memory seat module. These eleven wires include three wires for communicating sensor signals between the sensors and the memory seat module; two wires for providing power from the memory seat module to the sensors; and three pairs of wires for connecting each motor control relay to a motor.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a seat adjusting system having a motor assembly with an integrated sensor and control electronics assembly for adjusting a seat in a vehicle.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a seat adjusting system having a motor assembly with an integrated sensor and control electronics assembly in which electronic memory seat module functions are performed by the integrated sensor and control electronics assembly.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a seat adjusting system having a motor assembly with an integrated sensor and control electronics assembly in which a multiplex link communicates data via the integrated sensor and control electronics assembly between the motor assembly and an external switch.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a seat adjusting system having a motor assembly with an integrated sensor and control electronics assembly including motor control relays positioned between motors of the motor assembly for controlling the motors to adjust a seat.
It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a seat adjusting system having a motor assembly with an integrated sensor and control electronics assembly and a single connector for connecting the integrated sensor and control electronics assembly to an external switch.
It is still yet another object of the present invention to provide a seat adjusting system having a motor assembly with an integrated sensor and control electronics assembly including sensors for monitoring the position of a seat.
It is still yet a further object of the present invention to provide a seat adjusting system having a motor assembly with an integrated sensor and control electronics assembly including electronics for suppressing electrically conducted or radiated electromagnetic emissions.
In general, the present invention is a seat adjusting system having a motor assembly with an integrated sensor and control electronics assembly for adjusting a vehicle seat. The integrated sensor and control electronics assembly performs electronic memory seat module functions. The integrated sensor and control electronics assembly includes a vehicle multiplex link for communicating data via the integrated sensor and control electronics assembly between the motor assembly and an external switch. The integrated sensor and control electronics assembly further includes motor control relays positioned between the motors of the motor assembly for controlling the motors to adjust the seat. The integrated sensor and control electronics assembly also includes seat position sensors for monitoring the position and other aspects of the seat. In contrast to typical seat adjusting systems having an external electronic memory seat module, the seat adjusting system of the present invention needs only a minimal set of wires connecting the seat adjusting system to an external switch as the integrated sensor and control electronics assembly performs electronic memory seat module functions.
In carrying out the above objects and other objects, the present invention provides a seat adjusting system for adjusting the position of a seat in a vehicle. The system includes a motor assembly having a motor for moving a seat member and an integrated sensor and control electronics assembly integrated with the motor assembly for performing electronic memory seat module functions. The integrated sensor and control electronics assembly includes a sensor for monitoring the motor to generate a sensor position signal indicative of the position of the seat member, and a processor operable for processing the sensor position signal to determine the position of the seat. The processor is further operable for controlling the motor to adjust the position of the seat.
The integrated sensor and control electronics assembly may further include a single or multiple wire multiplex link for communicating data with an external switch accessible to a vehicle operator. The processor is further operable for storing preset seat positions, wherein the processor controls the motor to adjust the position of the seat to a desired preset seat position in response to a corresponding vehicle operator command triggered via the external switch.
The integrated sensor and control electronics assembly may further include a motor control relay for activating the motor. The processor is operable with the motor control relay to control the motor. The motor control relay may be positioned adjacent the motor.
The motor assembly may include a plurality of motors for moving respective seat members, and the integrated sensor and control electronics assembly may include a plurality of sensors for monitoring respective motors to generate sensor position signals indicative of the positions of the seat members. The processor is operable for processing the sensor position signals to determine the position of the seat and for controlling the motors to adjust the position of the seat. The integrated sensor and control electronics assembly further includes a plurality of motor control relays for activating the motors. The integrated sensor and control electronics assembly also include means for suppressing electromagnetic emissions.
The system may include a connector having at least three wires for connecting the integrated sensor and control electronics assembly to the external environment. A first wire connects to an external switch for communicating signals between the integrated sensor and control electronics assembly and the external switch, a second wire connects to a power ground for providing a power ground to the integrated sensor and control electronics assembly, and a third wire connects to a power supply for providing power to the integrated sensor and control electronics assembly.
The system may further include a seat heater for heating the seat. The integrated sensor and control electronics assembly further includes a temperature sensor for monitoring the seat to generate a sensor temperature signal indicative of the temperature of the seat. The processor is further operable for processing the sensor temperature signal to determine the temperature of the seat and for controlling the heater to adjust the temperature of the seat.
The system may further include a ventilation unit for ventilating the seat. The processor is further operable for controlling the ventilation unit to adjust the ventilation of the seat.
The advantages associated with the seat adjusting system of the present invention are numerous. The advantages include: 1) a reduction in system cost; 2) a reduction in package space requirements; and 3) an improvement in system reliability. The cost reduction results from the reduction of the number of wires and connectors used by the seat adjusting system. The package reduction results from moving the motor control relays from an external electronic memory seat module to a location between the motors in the motor assembly. Moving the control relays between the motors frees up packaging space because previously unused packaging space between the motors is being used. The reliability improvement results from the integrated sensor and control electronics assembly performing electronic memory seat module functions; the reduction of the number of interfaces and connections; and the ability to incorporate diagnostics into the motor assembly.
The above objects and other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention are readily apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment(s) when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings.